18/01/2012 BBC Points West

Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West. Our headlines tonight:

Local unemployment rises again. We reveal that bosses are shunning

staff who have been made redundant from the public sector.

The teacher jailed for dangerous driving after a fatal decision to

overtake on a bend. A Scottish manager for Bristol

Rovers, but can the club take the high road?

We are on board this historic fireboat making sure it is

shipshape thought the Queen's Diamond Jubilee pageant.

The bosses of many companies in South West say they are reluctant

to take on people made redundant from the private sector because

they are workshy. The Chamber of Commerce de for -- discovered that

people working in private firms don't think people in local council

have the same get up and go. It is worrying news for people facing

redundancy from the Civil Service on the day that unemployment went

up again. There has been a slight increase in

the number of people scouring jobs pages like these - up about 250 on

last month. These numbers should be down. They report on December when

usually shops and cafes are hiring temporary staff for Christmas. But,

of course, what's driving this increase in unemployment is

Government cuts. 59,000 public sector workers will be losing their

jobs here in the West over the next five years, according to new

research out today. And many will be looking in the jobs pages for

work in the private sector. So, can a teacher go into telesales? Can

you move from medicine to marketing? And, will private firms

take them on? That's the hope, but here's a worrying number. 88% of

private companies told a Bristol recruitment firm that no, they

wouldn't touch public sector workers. Why not? Well, brace

yourselves. Workshy. You could encapsulate a lot of it in now.

There were a lot of comments about absentee rates, people not actually

working to targets, but in the main, it was about people from the public

sector does not getting what it is like working in our environment.

would invite anyone who thinks that to spend a day or a week doing

those jobs. Our members work incredibly hard and under far more

difficult circumstances than your average shop or restaurant.

course, people who work for the police, the council, in healthcare,

deny they are work-shy. What's more, public service has changed. Public

service workers are driven by target every day of the week. By

target, by efficiency savings. They have saved billions of pounds in

efficiency savings year on year out. Efficient maybe, but there is

perhaps a deeper divide, a cultural gap - the sheer morality of making

money. The very word profit is often quite emotive, and that is

sometimes a problem for people moving across into the public

sector from the -- into the private sector from a public sector. Once a

finance manager for a private bus company, now a university lecturer,

Tony McNiff has seen both sides of this. I have been in situations

where profit is a dirty word. That needs to be stripped away. It looks

like quite a mountain to climb, and if you're one of them making that

move, you'll need all the help you can get. And fortunately, the Local

Enterprise Partnership here in the West of England has just published

a guide - tips on rewriting your CV, picking out what you've done that

private firms will like, that kind of thing. It's on the website, and

if you want to join the debate on this, check out my Twitter page

which has already got people talking.

Earlier I spoke to the work can pensions minister Chris Grayling

and I put it to him that West Country companies were not riding

to the rescue of ex-public sector workers as the Government had hoped.

I don't think that is right. If you look across the UK as a whole and

the South West in the past three months, there has been a

significant increase in employment. But his private sector jobs and

people moving to self-employment at a faster rate than job losses in

the public sector. But of course, there is still a major challenge in

breach labour market. Anna Bligh it is too high, both in the South West

and elsewhere in the country. -- unemployment. It will remain a big

priority in this country to do what it can in difficult economic times.

But you are making it worse - to a making 59,000 public service

workers redundant in the South West over the next five years. A survey

today shows that the private sector is not keen on employing them.

don't think that is right. We have seen plenty of people move out of

the public sector into the private sector. They have been questions

about the work ethics of those living out but I don't accept that

at all. I think there are some good people who will be moving on from

the public sector and a very employable by the private sector.

But you have got work to do in the pairing these people for the jobs

market. There are people who will move straight away into employment

in the private sector. Others will need support through JobCentre plus,

through our work programme, through some of the other measures we are

putting in place to help the unemployed. The key issue is, when

we came into government Britain was boring �165,000 a year. We were

borrowing �1 in every �4 that we were spending. That is not much

consolation if you are a young person and can't get a job. But if

we were not dealing with that problem we would see unemployment

higher and not lower. Look at what is happening elsewhere in Europe,

some other countries are in real difficulties financially. If we

were not taking tough action to deal with Darren problems then we

would be in that same position. Businesses will be leaving the UK

and cutting jobs at a faster rate than we have seen. Chris Grayling,

thank you. A chief constable has tonight

defended his force's investigation into a Somerset man accused of

fraudulently selling bomb detectors that don't work to countries around

the world. It is about two years since Jim McCormick was first

arrested by police on suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation. But, he

still has not been charged. A senior lawyer has told the BBC that

keeping someone on bail for so long without charge is almost unheard of.

This was Jim McCormack at his offices near Wincanton in November

2009. He was demonstrating to me his bomb detecting equipment, based

on the principle of dowsing. At the time, his company's promotional

video was claiming the hand-held device could detect virtually any

kind of explosive up to a mile away. Up to $35,000 a go, the kits were

being sold widely. That included two countries like Iraq. But a BBC

investigation found they did not work. By now, the police were

already investigating. All security equipment have their difficulties.

As more questions were being asked about the effectiveness of the

device, in 20th January 10, Jim McCormick was arrested on suspicion

of fraud. Two years on, he still has not been charged, and today, as

Mr McCormick was repelled by police for a further six months, the Chief

Constable of Avon and Somerset spoke exclusively to the BBC to

defend his inquiry. There isn't a problem. This is a complex

investigation. At the moment we are looking at 23 countries, as far

away as China, Hong Kong, all over the Middle East. It involves

liaising with those countries and liaising with lots of people, and

we have got a large team of experienced investigators dealing

with this very thoroughly indeed. Recently, there was a small and

somewhat unusual protest again at - - outside Mr McCormick's Somerset

home. Mr McCormick appeared at his front door to speak to them.

Lawyers say it is highly unusual for a man to be held for so long on

police bail without a charge being brought. I think my own view also

it is that not only is it unusual, but it is also prejudicial. The

reason being that justice delayed is justice denied. It is not

unprecedented. It is unusual, yes, but for the reasons I have just

explained it is a complex investigation. Our whole object is

to search for the truth and we will not be restricted by time.

McCormick has been re-bailed until the summer, so a decision could

still be months away on whether the effectiveness of this device is to

be tested in a court of law. Police are appealing for witnesses

after an accident on the M5 involving seven vehicles yesterday

evening. The motorway was closed between Gloucester and Cheltenham

for nearly 12 hours after a lorry crashed through the central

reservation. One man was airlifted to Frenchay hospital with life-

threatening injuries. For others were injured. A 55-year-old man

from Gloucester was arrested on suspicion of danger striving and

has since been bailed pending further inquiries.

You are watching Wednesday's Points West. Still to come: the tiny slip

not that spelled deep disappointment for the Great

Britain rhythmic gymnastics team. And, once more unto the breach dear

friends, once more. Gloucester Cathedral plays host to a film crew

making Shakespeare for a modern audience.

Bristol is justifiably proud of its maritime heritage and will be

taking its rightful place in the diamond jubilee for Taylor on the

River Thames. Two vessels will join the fleet of 1000 for -- boats in

London this summer. This is a wonderful old boat, built in the

1930s. Our librarian has stuttered of some archives today and found

this footage from 1965 of her making her way down the river Avon.

A couple of officers there looking resplendent in their tunics. What

we now know is she will take pride of place in the Queen's diamond

jubilee regatta, so let's get a few words with Andy King. Did you --

she seemed much service over the years? More than they expected, I

think. In the middle of her life we had a walk and there was a lot of

bombing in the harbour. She was involved in fighting fires at

nearly all the sites around the docks which got hit, including the

one resulted in this whole site being cleared. We know that you

will be going up to London with the Matthew which is further down the

water. It will be an amazing occasion. We will see some shots in

a few moments of 1953, the coronation for Taylor back then.

What are your feelings about the events in the summer? It will be

amazing, I think. We are delighted to have been invited to take part.

Unlike the Matthew, we can get under all the pressures so we will

be taking part in the whole procession from Battersea Bridge do

to Tower Bridge alongside a lot of other boats. Nearly 1000 vessels

are taking part. There will be a few other fire boats, so between us

we ought to be able to soak most of the population of London. So you

will have the hoses up and running? That is why we are going, that is

why we have been invited. It is going to be great fun, I think.

us proud, and sure you will. It will be wonderful to see the event.

They are talking about that for a A schoolteacher has been sent to

prison for 20 months for killing a father-of-two in a dangerous

overtaking manoeuvre on a Wiltshire road. 27-year-old Eleanor Brown

knocked Lee Roberts off his moped in the accident in October 2010.

Today, his family said they were pleased to see her jailed.

Lee Roberts was a father of two small children. His family said he

was a lively, both aged -- vivacious man who lived for his

children and wife. Outside the court where his killer was jailed,

they said no sentence would have been enough. She is devastated our

lives completely. She has no idea. She has no comprehension of the

devastation she has caused. It has been horrific. I would not wish it

on anybody else. If this stops one other person making that manoeuvre

and choosing not to do it, that has got to be a good thing.

accident happened on this stretch of road. Lee Roberts was riding his

Mowbray to work when he was hit by Eleanor Brown who was travelling in

the opposite direction. He was killed instantly. People in the

village where Lee worked talk of him as a nice man. Lovely family,

lovely guy, came in with his little boy. Lee's family say the sentence

could have been longer. This solicitor it says the rules can be

confusing. The sentence is lenient. It may not discourage people from

doing this again. It may do. That is a light sentence, I think, for

what happened. Lee's family say despite their pain, they had some

good can come from what happened to leave. Tonight, Eleanor Brown, the

woman convicted of causing his death, is beginning a 20 Mont

Prison Service. -- 20 months. Football, and another Scottish

manager has arrived in Bristol. Mark McGhee has been handed the job

at Bristol Rovers. The 54-year-old has been out of management for the

last year, but his CV is impressive, and he has learned from one of the

famous names in the game. You might recognise the man on the

right - Sir Alex Ferguson - with Mark McGhee, toasting Aberdeen's

Winners' Cup triumph in 1983. As mentors go, there cannot be many

better. As a player, McGhee made his name in his native Scotland,

but his managerial success has come in England. He has won promotion

with three different clubs, including taking Brighton into the

Championship at Bristol City's expense in 2004. A return to

Aberdeen did not go so well, and he has spent the last year scouting

for the national side. But he was always keen to manage again.

thought when I set off in management I would spend my entire

career, once I had decent performances, at Manchester United.

I feel as if I have a huge amount to prove. Bristol Rovers can take

me some of our way. I think we can go on a significant journey

together. If this all looks a bit familiar,

that is because it is. Just seven months ago, Paul Buckle was shaking

the chairman's hand, and just a year ago, Dave Penney. Three

managers in 12 months. They were interested in Sean O'Driscoll but

talks broke down with the ex- Doncaster man. And the club says

McGhee, who was briefly on Bristol City's books as a teenager, was

streets ahead of the other two candidates they interviewed.

have gone for tried and tested this time. He has a great track record.

He has got some fantastic contacts within the game. I think that

stands him in good stead. Rovers last manager Paul Buckle was also a

popular appointment but he upset the supporters here by telling them

to lower their expectations. Mark McGhee will want to keep that bond

much stronger, although he knows ultimately it is the result on the

pitch which will dictate at this club can finally get some stability.

There were tears of despair in London last night as the Great

Britain rhythmic gymnastics team failed to qualify for the Olympics.

The girls, who train at the University of Bath, missed the

standard by the tiniest of margins. This is the moment the girls

realised their Olympic chance had slipped away. A devastating end to

their 2012 journey. We are gutted. We worked so hard for this. To come

down to that school or, we are really upset. That was not our best.

He was not a routine we deserved. We did very really good routines

outback. At the very top of so many sports, the difference between

success and failure can rest on one small incident. Here a single

ribbon tied itself into a bow. The judges said this minor mistake cost

the team its Olympic place. It was so close but it is such a precision

sport. One element, and that is it. When you saw the little errors, did

your heart skip and did you think, a no? Of course. But they seemed to

recover really well but they may not came from nowhere. -- a knocked

The girls had hoped to make history as the first British rhythmic

gymnastics team to qualify for an Olympics, and a home Games at that.

This had been the culmination of so much hard work at the University of

Bath - the hours, the miles, and the self-funding, relying on the

backing of parents. Out they have come up a small amount short. I am

disappointed for him. No-one can understand people's sentiments when

the are so close to making big gains. -- the games.

There will be many more championships to come but for now

the Olympic dreams have been shattered. Hopes unravelled by a

knot in a ribbon. A parliamentary bill that could see

an end to us putting our clocks an hour forward and then a hour back

each year is being discussed on Friday. But one West Country MP has

got his own ideas about the nature of time. Jacob Rees-Mogg has is

arguing that Somerset should have its own time zone - a good ten

minutes or so behind the rest of the UK.

He is known for having a certain tone -- turn of phrase. Also for

putting his ideas out there. should look after Her Majesty.

handful being a big fan of Somerset. Jacob Rees-Mogg has put forward an

amendment to the daylight Saving Bill. He is suggesting his county

of Somerset should be exempt, aged have its own Tiber. Somerset time.

It would more actively reflect the position of the Sun in the sky in

the county would be 10 minutes behind GMT. Jacob Rees-Mogg's

proposal is not a new one. One that could take Somerset back not just

10 minutes but 172 years. The sun rises at 6:00am -- and set for 10

minutes later than in London. Local time here is different to that in

London. When the railways came in a team of 40, that would not do. The

Great Western Railway imposed London time, 10 minutes earlier, on

Bristol. A good we the Elysee Jacob Rees-Mogg Turn Back Time to 1840?

am teasing the people who are promoting the daylight Saving Bill,

which I do not need is a sensible Bill. It would give us dog wardens

will stop it is worth making political points colour for the. --

Gloucester Cathedral is fast becoming a movie star in its own

right after playing host to, amongst other things, the Harry

Potter films. But today the cameras started to roll on the biggest

production to date. Stars such as Jeremy Irons and Simon Russell

Beale will be in the city to work on new films of Shakespeare's Henry

IV and Henry V. It has meant much of the cathedral has undergone a

massive transformation. Our Gloucestershire reporter has been

behind the scenes. There were lots of weird and

wonderful contraptions floating into and being wheeled around the

cathedral today. Even some ingenuity to protect the ancient

floor. But all with the aim of bringing some of Shakespeare's most

famous history plays to life. In the past, filming is normally done

on a closed set, but such is the scale of this production the film

crew are working around the cathedral's daily routine. Already

there have been three services this morning. There will be evening song

today and the company are having their lunch time at 5:30pm, which

is when we do evening song. Their day is 11am to 11pm. If there were

crew are using lots of the cathedral. They need to make sure

they blend in with the building. They have done a good job. What was

so special about it was we could use so many parts of it. We are

using the name, which is fantastic, and we are using that of the Palace

of Westminster. We are using the posters and certain corridors. It

just had so many different locations. Sadly we were not

allowed to see any of the scenes being filmed or meet the stars. But

we did manage exclusive interviews with two of the excited extras

recruited at local auditions. a palace servant. They made me grow

my hair my beard. It has been great doing it.

Next week, the cast and crew for Henry IV move into the cathedral,

with all the films being shown as part of the cultural Olympiad on

the BBC this summer. Dulverton on Exmoor is poised to

play a starring role on BBC Two's Stargazing Live programme tonight.

In just over an hour's time, everyone in the town is being

encouraged to switch out the lights and look skyward live on TV. Jon

Kay is there for us. Is it looking like a starry starry night?

cannot see a lot yet. We have been looking up to this guy and I have

not seen a start. Maybe when all the lights go off we will see

something. That is what this is about, proving that light pollution

makes a difference. Have you switched your lights off at home?

Yes. There has never been such excitement about like going off.

Astronomers have come down to take part, to see that will be revealed.

You have got your telescope ready. That are the chances? Fairly grim.

You never can tell if there will be a break in the cloud. This

programme tonight, it is not just about what we see in the skies, it

is showing a different light pollution makes. That must be

crucial to you. Absolutely. We look at the sky is now with the lights

in the Tower and Bognor lights go out later, if it is clear, it would

be a really good image. -- in the town and when the lights go out.

Good luck. It will be live between 8pm and 9pm. Cross your fingers for

Dulverton. I have been inspired. There will be a fair amount of hill

fort are developing. It will improve. Tomorrow afternoon, it

will be more like this picture behind me. Brighter weather and

breezier. It will turn cold air. We have a cold front which will

straddle the West Country during the course of tonight. This way for

pep up the rainfall totals. -- away people will pep up.. There will be

a coolish feel to the end of the week. Tonight, there is a lot of

cloud. Some rain. Rain will become heavier. It will be windier. With

all of this, a lot of hill fog, murky conditions will stop it is

not going to be a particularly cold night. Temperatures will be eight

Celsius. Tomorrow's rush hour, a soggy affair. All of that tracking

its way south. It will start to brighten up in the afternoon. By

that stage, it will be a breeze you set up. The winds will have a

north-westerly endurance. They will be dry and the skies will be clear.

Temperatures tomorrow, at their best, about ten Celsius. Then they

will drop a way. Beyond that, it is a cooler set up. We are in a warm

sector for release part of Saturday. There will be outbreaks of rain at

times but equally a good deal of And you can keep stargazing with